The sliding hip screw, a widely used device for treating for treating intertrochanteric fractures, consists of a lag screw which is inserted across the fracture into the head and neck of the femur, and a femoral side plate with a tubular support through which the trailing end of the screw can slide when healing with some shorting of the bone takes place.
Effective as these hip screws are however, they have some problems. Failure of healing in proper alignment occurs in a significant percentage of fractures treated this way because of complications arising from, for example, excessive pressure such as weight bearing on an osteoporotic femoral head, or sub-optimal positioning of the nail, which results in the threaded tip of the screw cutting out of the femoral head, or breakage of the nail, all of which can result in a severe displacement of the head and neck fragment, necessitating further reconstructive surgery, often hip replacement. The increased morbidity and mortality resulting from these complications suggests the need for further improvement in the treatment of these difficult fractures.
It is the aim of the present invention to provide additional support of the femoral head and neck fragment of the fracture, and to significantly alleviate the results of the downward pressure on the hip screw by transferring some of the pressure from the hip screw to the present device, a hip fracture support plate, thereby altering the relationship between the forces tending to displace the head and neck fragment, and the devices that are resisting these forces, resulting in a reduction of the complications arising from the use of sliding hip screw fixation alone.